The cultural show last night was a great mix of color, sound and spectacle. Colorful costumes; singing and drumming, and the beauty of Brazilian culture. A good nights entertainment.

Towards the end they got the audience involved with a karaoke segment. The audience was asked where they came from and a few nationals were invited on stage to sing their national song. What would YOU sing as a national song for Australia?

The finale was a Carnival item with the women performers dressed in the beautiful costumes that are seen in the parade.

This morning we braved the Metro R$3.50 each for a single journey and caught the train to Rio Centro. After a long walk from the Metro station and walking around in circles to find the museum we arrived at the National History Museum - R$6 each to get in. It is a well set out display of Brazilian history from earliest arrival of the indigenous people's between 30,000 and 60,000 years ago. Brazil has had a sad history. Of particular note is that between 1821 and 1871, 60% of the world's slave trade was to Brazil. By comparison North America at the same time only accounted for 3%; yet we seem to have heard a lot more about North America. We were probably at the museum for nearly 3 hours.

We decided to then walk into Rio Centro, via the foreshore. We visited some churches, including the especially ornate church of the presidential palace.

Rio Centro was a surprise because the map showed it as "Central Shopping District" yet there weren't really many shops except for small cafes. The cobble stone of the narrow pedestrian streets are in disrepair and the area is quite dirty with rubbish. We discovered a large market area which with its numerous stalls and street vendors, rubbish strewn pavements and general feel appeared more like an impoverished city than one which Rio needs to display leading up to the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. A very interesting experience and one which certainly contributes to the excitement of the city. Today's photo is a street in the market area of Rio Centro.

Back on the Metro to Copacabana and it almost seemed like we were back in "familiar" territory after the hustle of Rio Centro.

Time to pack as we have a 5am pickup for transfer to the airport for the flights to Buenos Aires and on to El Calafate.

Good night from Rio - we have enjoyed your experiences.